Easy is Relative
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: Kara Saje and the 425th get a retrieval mission to an abandoned Jedi enclave on a world on the Outer Rim. Their objective is to get in, find Jedi relics, and secure them for return to Coruscant. There's a reason there are so many battle quotes about the lasting nature of plans. (Gen, Clone Wars Era. Search, Rescue, and Retrieval 2)
1. New Mission

"General Saje."

Kara blinked several times, rising out of her meditation slowly.

"General Saje."

She was on another cruiser, some mission.

 _"General Saje."_

The war, the _Retrieval,_ Kara shook her head slightly as she slid off her bunk and hit the comm button, "General Saje here."

"General, communication from Coruscant. You're requested to the comm center," one of the comm officers said.

"I'm on my way," Kara said. She grabbed her robe and slid it on, running her hands over her shirt for a moment before she shoved her feet into her loose, leather slippers and headed for the bridge.

They'd transferred General Secura and her men to the _Valiant_ yesterday, and Kara had barely begun sorting through her troopers' records. She'd already confirmed the existence of Knight Squadron, the ten men who would follow her no matter the mission. She'd also confirmed Lieutenant Screech's Home Squad, which would always be in charge of their base camp or landing zone. Other than that, Captain Zip hadn't pointed out any other squads in need of formal recognition, but they both agreed that they would work on it.

Of course, if the Council was sending them on another mission, they'd probably figure out something they needed and hadn't thought of before. Kara shook her head slightly as she entered the comm station, nodding to the Lieutenant as he scuttled backwards with a salute.

"I'll just be outside," the young Twi'lek stuttered before fleeing.

Kara glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she really looked that terrifying, and then turned back to call up the communication. In moments, she had a three-foot-high Master Windu staring at her from the holo platform.

"Master Windu," Kara said with a bow.

"General Saje," Windu said pointedly. "We have a new mission for you."

"Sir, may I remind you that I don't even have a full company as of yet," Kara said pointedly.

"We're making arrangements to get you more troops General," Windu said, "but for now, this is a retrieval. We're sending you to the planet Alsaiir. It's currently located in Republic space, but there are indications that it won't be for long. On Alsaiir is a Jedi outpost that was abandoned in the war, within it are several important relics. We need you to retrieve those relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands and return them to Coruscant. I'm sending the data you'll need."

Kara bowed, "Of course, but sir, if the threat of the planet to falling to Separatist hands is so clear, shouldn't someone with more troopers be dispatched?"

"We don't have anyone else we can send right now," Master Windu replied with a scowl. Then he closed his eyes for a moment, "If you do run into trouble, we'll do what we can, General Saje, but I wouldn't depend on help arriving in time."

"Yes sir," Kara said, "I understand." She rested her hand on the panel below the projector, "Is there anything I should know about Alsaiir?"

"It's a temperate world, not much different from Alderraan and Naboo. We've used it as an outpost for Jedi in need of a retreat away from Coruscant for a while now, but with the war on, it's not possible anymore." Windu said calmly.

"So we won't need that bad weather gear that got lost in transit," Kara said, "that's good to know." She nodded slightly, "I sent the report in about the gear, apparently it's not the first time my people have had their gear lost or had faulty gear shipped out."

Windu sighed, "It seems to be an ongoing trouble. I'll leave you to deal with your mission, General Saje."

"Yes, General Windu," Kara said.

"Oh, and General Saje," Windu said.

"Yes, General Windu?" Kara asked.

"If you're going to adjust the size of the hologram, I recommend you keep your eyes steady."

"Yes Master," Kara said, bowing. When she straightened, the transmission had ended.

For a moment, Kara allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of glee and mischief, then she clenched her hands, cleared her face and stepped back out of the room. Finding the Lieutenant waiting, she smiled, "I'm expecting a databurst from Coruscant. When it comes in, please route it to my datapad."

"Yes sir," the Lieutenant said with a salute.

Kara nodded and walked away, reminding herself, again, to ask Captain Sei'lar about that military protocol instruction. Then she remembered her datapad was in her room and set off quickly, cursing herself for a fool. Thankfully her pad was sitting on the "desk", a somewhat dubious flat surface that folded down from the wall that she didn't trust to hold more than the two datapads she depended on.

Given that the data hadn't arrived yet, Kara felt justified in ducking into the 'fresher for a sonic shower before dressing in her armor yet again. As she pulled on the silvery grey under suit, Kara felt grateful that her father's gift had included several of the suits, even if there was only one set of armor. Once dressed, Kara collected her datapads and headed to the conference room that she frequently borrowed. By the time she'd collected a cup of caff and settled down, the data she'd been waiting for had arrived and she was ready to immerse herself in the details of their new mission.

It was two hours later before she went up to the bridge to find Captain Sei'lar.

"Captain Sei'lar," Kara said, "may I have a word?"

"Of course, General," Sei'lar said.

Kara followed him to the back of the bridge, "I have new orders from Coruscant, a retrieval mission."

Captain Sei'lar nodded slightly, "As you know, my orders are to provide you with all the assistance I can."

Kara nodded, "We are being sent to Alsaiir, to retrieve important Jedi relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands. Their intel says that Alsaiir is currently Republican aligned, but with the way the war is going."

"That can change at any moment," Sei'lar said with a slight nod, "I will put us on course to Alsaiir immediately."

"Thank you, Captain," Kara said. "I'll be making use of one of the conference rooms for a while."

The Captain smiled slightly, "General, consider the room yours for the duration. Certainly, you get more use out of it than my people have lately."

Kara bowed, "Thank you, Captain." She turned and headed back to the conference room, pulling out her comm unit as she went.

"Captain Zip."

Kara smiled a little, "Captain, please come to the conference room near my quarters. We have a new mission."

"Yes General," Captain Zip replied.

Kara thought for a minute about General Secura's wrist comm and wished she'd been issued one, but that request, like all the rest, was languishing on the supply lines that rarely carried what was ordered. Her fingers twitched and Kara sighed, picking up her speed in hopes of being able to get to the conference room before Zip did.

Finding the room empty, Kara dragged her datapad over, summoning her stylus with the Force as she pulled up the drawing program. She took a deep breath and began to draw.

"Sir?"

Kara didn't look up, "Door's open, means come in, Zip. Have a seat, we've got a mission."

"Yes, sir," Zip said.

Kara nudged the datapad over with the mission parameters. "Take a look, tell me what you think."

"Are you okay?" Zip asked as he sat down.

"Just, force stuff," Kara waved her hand slightly, unwilling to take her eyes off the scene she was sketching. Gloved hands were holding blasters pointed at a figure who was lying prone on the ground. She thought it was a Twi'lek, but they weren't the only species that had lekku. The face of the person, and the full body of her shooters weren't in frame, but under the one visible hand was a broken light saber. Kara flipped the scene and began to sketch again.

"This is a Republic held planet," Zip said.

"But they're concerned it'll be overrun," Kara said. "And that information may not be as up-to-date as we'd like."

"But it's just a retrieval, find the relics and get out, right?" Zip asked.

"Nothing's ever just a retrieval," Kara said as she finished the octagon shape that dominated her new drawing. "But on this one, I want to do something specific."

"What's that?" Zip asked.

"I want you to stay on the _Retrieval_ with half the company. I'll take Knight, Home, and one other down." Kara said.

"But, why? Sir." Zip protested half standing.

Kara looked up at him, "I want you here, so that when shit goes wrong, you can come rescue us. If you're down there, you'll already be in the middle of it. We aren't going to have back up for this, so we'll have to make our own."

"I don't like this," Zip said, carefully sitting down, "We're supposed to protect _you."_

Kara took another look at her Captain, "That's what Knight Squad is for, Captain. I promise, they'll be with me every step of the way. I need you where you can do the most good too, up here to lead the rescue mission." She glanced back at her pad, studying it for a moment with a frown.

"I'm not comfortable with this," Zip said softly.

"I'm sorry," Kara said, "but I need this from you."

"Did you see it, in your drawings?" Zip asked.

"No," Kara said. Carefully, she ran her stylus through the middle of the octagon, sketching out a sinuous figure that made her gut clench with dread. "This isn't today, or this month, maybe not this year. I don't… this isn't about the mission." She leaned into the Force, hoping for more clarity as to why she was being shown images that were so far away. All she got was a feeling of waiting peace, a certainty that what needed to be seen would be when it's time came.

Zip sighed, "If you're only taking three squads, how do you plan to deploy?"

Kara smiled, "I want Home Squad with the ship, naturally. This isn't meant to be longer than a day, so we won't set camp. Knight will be with me, of course. We'll be going into the enclave to retrieve the relics. Third squad will be at the entrance to the enclave. They'll keep an eye out for trouble and cover our rear. If something happens, they'll hold the door from cover so we can decide the best way forward. Depending on what's going on, we'll fallback to the gun ship, or Home Squad will come to us. This may be an enclave, but it's very defensible."

"Have you been there?" Zip asked.

"No, but Master Windu was telling me that it's located in a box canyon. It has two additional exits, but one of them is a near vertical rock climb and the other is a cave system that is practically a labyrinth to the uninitiated. There's a lot of very good shielding in place there, from when the enclave was home to a very rich and very paranoid crime lord. The Jedi helped deal with him after he assassinated a Chancellor about three hundred years ago, and we were able to claim the enclave for Jedi use afterwards."

"I see," Zip said.

"There's a couple of maps in there," Kara said, "not the labyrinth itself, but there's a secondary landing port if we need it. You need someone inside the shields to open it though, which is why we won't be using it."

"But if there's trouble, we can come straight to you," Zip said as he tapped the datapad.

"Exactly," Kara said as she swiped to a clean page and put the stylus down to look Zip full in the face. "I understand you're not happy that I'm asking you to stay. I'm sorry, but the ground action if there's trouble is limited. The rescue operation is what's going to be important. I have to go into the enclave, it's been sealed, only a Jedi can get in without ripping the place apart, so I need you here, to handle getting us home. Knight Squad are my protection, they watch my back and assist me in achieving the mission objective. You are my partner. I need to be able to trust you to do what needs doing so that I can do my job. That may mean that we're fighting different battles, and it may mean that we're side by side through the whole thing, but I need to know that when I ask for a distraction, you can give it to me. I need Chip, and Fallback, and Sergeant Blaze for when I have to toss someone up a cliff face or handle a speeder bike because I got the defective one. Can you work with that?"

Zip took a deep breath and nodded, "I can sir."

"Thank you," Kara said with a slight smile. "If nothing else, consider it time to work out how to fill in our command structure. Master Windu said we'd have replacements, and I want them to have a place before they get here."

"I'll consider it," Zip said, standing up, "if that's all?"

"Yes," Kara said, then realized that wasn't what she was supposed to say, "um, dismissed. Have the squadrons who are leaving begin preparations. Have Lieutenant Swoop get a gunship ready."

"Yes sir," Zip said and saluted her.

Kara smiled a little, feeling his confidence in her increase a little as he started to leave. It was one thing to be given command, but Kara knew she'd have to win over her troopers on her own. A sudden thought occurred.

"Captain," she said, looking up.

"Yes sir?" Zip asked, turning back to look at her.

"Keep track of which squad comes with me today. Next time I need another squad, make sure it's a different one. Knight Squad may be exclusive, but I don't want to foster resentment and favoritism among the other squads as well."

"Yes sir," Zip said.

Kara waited until he left, then triggered the door. The room became nearly silent, with only the faint hum of the engines to fill the air. She looked around the room, taking in the two-toned grey on white walls, grey metal floor, and darker grey table. The chairs were white, and while they could swivel and move back and for a bit, they were fastened firmly to the floor. All in all, it was a depressingly plain room.

Kara's eye fell on the printer situated by the terminal in the corner that doubled as the inner-ship comm system and she smiled. She had started drawing because that was how the Force showed her visions, but that wasn't the only reason she drew. She took her datapad and moved over to the terminal to see about adding some color to her conference room.


	2. Briefing

Kara summoned Lieutenant Screech and the sergeants of the landing party when the first 'imminent arrival' warning went off. She'd already gone over her plans with Captain Sei'lar to make sure that his role in things was settled, and then dropped by her quarters to check her pack. This time, she stuck a spare commlink in the bag before she closed it. Forgetting the commlink the first time could possibly be forgotten with enough effort, forgetting it a second time would mean that someone was always going to ask about it. Kara had learned that one the hard way as a youngling, she still had clanmates who asked her if she had her stylus when they saw her. To be fair, that had been an unprecedented and memorable breakdown for a six-year-old Kara.

Pack checked over, Kara went back to the conference room that she'd designated as 'hers', checked to make sure that the landscape painting she'd attached to the wall with magnets was straight, poured a cup of caff, and then settled down in one of the chairs. No sooner had she'd gotten herself settled with cup and datapads than the troopers arrived. Knight Squad's Sergeant Bright arrived first, with Lieutenant Screech steps behind him.

"Lieutenant, Sergeant," Kara said with a warm smile, "have a seat, are you ready for another mission?"

"As ready as I can be," Lieutenant Screech said as they sat down, "any word on that resupply sir?"

"Nothing yet," Kara said, "I mentioned it to General Windu when we spoke." She taped her stylus on the table. "I'm half tempted to take time after this mission to track down our supplies. I imagine it would be faster than waiting."

There was a tentative knock on the door, and Kara glanced up to find two troopers at the door.

"Yes, she said calmly.

The two troopers saluted, "Sergeant Hook and Sergeant Foggy reporting as ordered General."

Kara stood and returned the salute, then offered her hand, "Sergeants, come in, have a seat. This briefing is to familiarize all of you with our primary objective and basic contingencies."

Kara shook their hands and settled back in her chair, closing the door as she studied the two sergeants. The only difference in this pair was that the one who had spoken previously had a crooked nose, legacy of a broken nose no doubt.

"Sergeant Foggy," Kara said, "I understand you are with Home Squadron?"

"Yes sir,"" the second Sergeant said as he jerked upwards, almost to attention in his chair.

"And Sergeant Hook would be our NCO for our third squadron in today's mission."

"Bucket Squadron, sir," Hook said firmly.

"Bucket Squadron," Kara said with a slight nod. "I'll remember that." She glanced at her datapad, then at the four men. "Our mission objective today is to retrieve Jedi relics from an enclave on Alsaiir. While currently a Republic world, there is concern that Alsaiir will be conquered by the Separatists soon, and these valuable relics will be in danger." Again, she tapped her stylus as she collected her thoughts, "Our plan at the moment is this. There is a landing pad about half a klick from the enclave that is used for arrivals and supply runs when the enclave is staffed and in use. We'll land there. Home Squad will secure the pad while Bucket Squadron and Knight Squadron will advance to the enclave with me. Bucket Squadron will secure and hold the entrance to the enclave while Knight Squad will proceed with me to the Vault. Once there, we will secure the relics, then rejoin with Bucket Squadron and return to the landing pad for departure." Kara glanced up to study her men for a moment, "Any questions?"

There was a moment of silence before Lieutenant Screech half-raised his hand.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Kara asked.

"Where will Captain Zip be?"

"Captain Zip will be on board the _Retrieval._ Should we run into difficulties, or the Separatists attack, he will be in charge of getting us all back to the _Retrieval."_

"What if the Separatists do attack, sir?" Blaze asked.

"If possible, we'll return to the ship and leave," Kara said. "If we cannot, the enclave was originally built by a crime syndicate as the private residence of their leader. It is palatial and restful, but it was also designed for a siege. If we cannot leave, we will seal the enclave and hold out."

She tapped her stylus again, letting the rhythmic sound settle her thoughts for a moment, "The enclave has a secondary hanger that is well hidden, but someone has to be inside the enclave to lower the protections. If it comes to it, a ship can get to it." When no one reacted to her words, Kara sighed gave them a wry smile, "If it helps, there have been no warnings in the Force. As Sergeant Blaze can attest, I have some talent in that direction."

She saw Blaze relax slightly with a nod, "That does help sir." He glanced down for a moment then back at her, "What kind of security can we expect, sir?"

"For the enclave, it's top of the line, but no real surprises. The syndicate put in top security when it was built and the Jedi invested in keeping it that way. I'm not in possession of all the details of the Vault however. I know that it requires a Jedi to get past the security however."

"What? Hook blurted out, then ducked his head as everyone looked at him.

"The vault plans are classified," Kara said. "No one would transmit those plans anywhere. Furthermore, my Master once said to me that the Separatists have had at least 10 years to prepare, it would be blind arrogance to assume our uncoded communications have been left alone."

"Why ten years, sir?" Lieutenant Screech asked.

"Because Master Honso believed that the war was supposed to have begun on Naboo. Senator Amidala, she was Queen then, wasn't supposed to have the kind of backbone she showed back then. Master Honso told me that the common opinion in the Senate before that was that the Naboo had elected another young idealist to the throne, and at fourteen, Queen Amidala was young for the position she found herself in. Then to, nobody expected Master Jinn to find a pilot like Skywalker by chance then either. Personally, I don't think the kriffing Sith realized how talented General Kenobi was with a 'saber, even back then. There were too many surprises for the Separatists to account for and it set them back." She tipped her head down and head down and then looked back up, "This opinion is considered rather controversial among the Jedi however. It would be a kindness to me if you would keep that inside the company for now."

"Trouble?" Blaze asked. Kara imagined she could _see_ his protective instincts come alert with the word.

Kara shrugged, "Not really. Mostly it's shouting or shunning with these things. I just don't want to get a reputation for controversy and rebellion before I've decided that's the reputation I want. People are already going to label me as not a conservative because Master Honso never was." She stood up, bringing the other four to their feet, "If there are no other questions, then consider yourself dismissed."

"Actually sir," Lieutenant Screech said, "what is the climate like on Alsaiir?"

"Temperate," Kara said, "it's late spring there, so warm with a possibility of rain, according to the report."

"Thank you, sir," Lieutenant Screech said and headed for the door, where Sergeant Blaze was hesitating.

"Yes Sergeant?" Kara asked as she settled back into her chair.

"I'm glad that it took another ten years for the war started." Blaze said, "Because then we got to meet you." He gave her a saucy salute and left.

Kara shook her head as she pulled her other pad in front of her and pulled up the drawing program. She should have enough time to get out whatever the Force wanted her to see before she got ready to leave.

Just as she finished drawing, someone rapped sharply on the wall by the open door. "General Saje, sir?"

Kara signed and dated the image and sat back, "Enter, Lieutenant Swoop."

Swoop nodded and stepped inside, trailed by a nervous looking trooper in the same pilot armor Swoop wore. Where Swoop wore Lieutenant blue on his arms and torso, this trooper only had three brown dots in a triangle formation to the left of his life support gear.

"Captain Zip suggested I introduce you to your pilot today," Swoop said carefully, resting his hand on the back of his companion. "This is Jumper."

Kara stood up and carefully returned Jumper's salute. "Pleased to meet you Jumper. You've been briefed already?"

"Yes sir," Jumper said.

"Good," Kara said, "the only thing I have to add is that if it comes to it and we have to fall back to the enclave, _you fall back with us._ We can replace a ship easy. Might not be the same exactly, and you'll have to make adjustments, but a ship can be replaced. _You cannot be replaced._ Understood?"

"Understood sir," Jumper said with a quick salute.

Kara nodded slightly, "When we're on the ground, you'll get your instructions from Lieutenant Screech, his people will be securing and holding the landing pad for us unless Captain Zip has to come planetside."

"Very good sir," Jumper said.

The second warning started up and Kara sighed. "I'd suggest you get to your ship, pilot. Thank you, Lieutenant."

The pair saluted and left. Kara drained her cup of caff and collected her datapads before heading for her room. She double checked her pack and her comm units, made sure her personal datapad was in the pack, and then headed up to the bridge to await departure from hyperspace.

Captains Zip and Sei'lar were on the bridge, Sei'lar was standing just behind his navigator, one hand resting on the Sullustan's chair while Zip stood by the door, with one hand resting on a rail that had been attached to the wall. Kara adjusted her pack and moved to lean against the rail beside Zip, gripping the rail lightly in preparation for their exit from hyperspace.

"General," Zip said after a moment.

"Captain," Kara said. She slid a glance at her companion, "Don't make a mess while I'm gone, yeah?"

"Sir?" Zip asked.

Kara sighed, "Never mind."

It had been easier as a Padawan, even a senior one. The troops followed their generals, but there had been something different about being Commander Saje. It was like she'd been closer to their troops before they'd cut her braid. Whether that was just because the 115th had a different attitude than the 425th or because she didn't have the braid, it stung a bit. She wasn't the sort to find a friend in every stranger, but Kara did like having friends, and she liked teasing them a bit when she could. Surrounded by people she was going to trust with her life and who she was pledged to lead and protect, she had hoped to make a few friends, but the gulf formed by the word _sir_ seemed insurmountable.

The ship shuddered slightly as it came out of hyperspace and Kara straightened, loosening her grip on the rail when no alarms sounded and no shouts came. She eased forward enough to get a look through the viewscreen to find a world growing larger as they approached. Its surface was green and brown with large bodies of blue, and one of the three moons was visible towards the northern part of the planet.

"That's Alsaiir," Kara said quietly.

"Yes General," Captain Sei'lar replied. "There are no capital ships on the scope, and we're establishing contact with the ground. The enclave appears to be broadcasting automatically."

Kara nodded slightly as she looked down at the planet. "Let me know if there are any surprises, Captain. I'll be on the gunship." She glanced at Zip as she walked past.

"General," Zip said.

Kara turned.

"Did you remember your commlink?" Zip asked with a little smirk that told her that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Kara's smile was sharp and predatory, "I've got two." She paused, " _Zippy."_

As the door closed, she distinctly heard Zip's aggrieved, "Who told her that story!"

As she took the lift down, Kara reminded herself that she owed Chip and Fallback a drink for sharing that story with her. She could understand why Zip had shortened his name from the original Zippy, given that he worked hard to present himself as a sober captain worthy of his rank. It still made her wonder what was hiding behind the shield of rank, what sort of cadet would he have been for an offhand comment of 'zippy little thing' would have stuck as a name.

Then she dismissed her contemplations as idle fancy best suited for when she wasn't about to go on a mission and strode onto the flight deck ready for whatever Alsaiir would throw at them.


	3. Through the Gate

The mountain range that held the Jedi enclave had an unreal beauty that stunned Kara. Looking around, she could understand why this would be a Jedi retreat. Even surrounded by soldiers and wearing armor, Kara could feel something in her relax as she breathed the clean air. She moved out of the way of the squads as she turned around, staring up at the snowcapped peaks.

Finally, she turned to look at her men, "Sergeant Blaze, are we ready to go?"

"Yes General," Blaze said.

"Lieutenant, we'll be back," Kara said.

"We'll be waiting," Screech replied.

Kara watched as her squads formed up before heading for the duracrete stairs.

"Sir," Blaze said.

Kara turned to look at the Sergeant, who was clearly uncomfortable, "Yes, Sergeant?"

"Let us take point, sir," Blaze said carefully. For a moment, Kara considered protesting, but there was something about the nervousness Blaze was emitting, and the tense protectiveness of Knight Squadron that prompted her to nod slightly.

"Go ahead," she said.

The nervous relief that flooded out of Blaze as Hopper and Rusty started down the stairs told Kara that something had happened that she didn't understand. When she looked over at Hook and his Bucket Squadron, their collective relief surprised her. Clearly something was going on between the squads. As she fell in beside Chip, Kara made a note to see if she could get someone to explain things when they got back to the _Retrieval._ Something told her that is was probably something a general was supposed to overlook, but she wasn't just a general, she was a _Jedi,_ and if there was a problem she would at least offer her help.

Fallback dropped back to walk on Kara's other side, and she glanced at him at of the corner of her eye, but he was carefully not looking at her so she let it go. Whatever was going on between the squads would have to wait, so long as it didn't interfere with the mission.

The enclave entrance wasn't readily apparent from the landing pad, but the road lead them around an outcropping and there it was. A wall extended across the narrow canyon opening made of locally quarried stone. The wall reached halfway up the canyon wall height, and centered on the wall was a guard house.

"Where's the gate?" Rusty muttered.

"Over here," Kara said, heading for the point where the left edge of the wall met the canyon. There was a pile of boulders like an ancient rock slide, behind which was the gate. "The previous owner was very paranoid, given that this was his personal residence." She touched the gate with her finger tips, considering it for a moment, then reached over to flip open a panel disguised as a rocky protrusion. "Thankfully, the Council was slightly less paranoid." She keyed in the code and watched the door slide into the wall.

Once the way was clear, Kara walked inside. The path led around a second outcropping into the box canyon. She stopped short as she cleared the outcropping, because like the mountains that sheltered it, holos did not do the retreat justice. There were few straight lines, all of the buildings looked as if they were organically grown from the canyon floor and walls, only the windows showing the differences in some places. The path they followed was curved around gardens that looked a little unkempt, leading towards the largest of the buildings.

"Excuse me sir," Blaze said suddenly.

Kara started and moved, remembering that she wasn't there for a week spent in meditation and contemplation. "Sorry, Sergeant," she murmured. She tucked her hands behind her back once she'd cleared the entry, "Sometimes I hate this war."

It was very jarring to observe her troops in the midst of a place meant to harbor peace.

Kara forced the discontent from her mind, reminding herself of her mission. She turned, "Sergeant Hook, secure the gate. Sergeant Blaze, let's go."

She waited for Hook's salute, then headed into the enclave as she pulled up her mental map of the area. Behind her, she could hear her squad falling in with a few soft murmurs. Their path went past the larger buildings, to a smaller building just behind the largest building. This, according to the map she'd seen, was the archives that would lead to the vault.

"Sir?" Blaze said as Kara headed to one of the tables.

"I need my datapad," Kara said. She glanced at Blaze, "Or is there something else I need to hear?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean sir," Blaze said stiffly.

Kara hummed softly as she pulled out the datapad with the map on it and started it up. "Did you know that the Force allows Jedi to know things like emotions?" She glanced sideways at the uncomfortable Blaze. "I can't read minds without deliberate effort, but emotions? It's kind of like being in a crowded room and listening to all the conversations going on around you. I know there's something going on, my question is, is there something I need to know about it or is there something I could do that would help you deal with it?"

"No, sir," Blaze said.

Kara blinked slightly then jumped at the sound of armor smacking armor. Fallback had his hand on Chip's arm, restraining him. Clearly, whatever issue existed was something they didn't want her to know about, and remembering the odd tension and relief on the landing pad, Kara wondered if she even wanted to pursue it. Then her datapad beeped and Kara focused. They had a mission, whatever was going on in the ranks would have to wait for a more opportune time.

"All right," Kara said, "the door to the vault is over here." She headed towards one of the side walls where there was supposed to be a hidden door to a turbolift. She ran her fingers over the carved panel for a moment, with its beautiful depiction of a forest glade, then looked back at her pad. The way in was a light situated at the top of the panel, out of her reach. She regarded the light for a moment, then turned to look at the squad that was now watching her.

"Chip, can you give me a boost," she asked finally. "I need to trigger this thing."

"You can't," Chip began even as he started forward.

"No," Kara said, "jumping heights is one thing, floating on air is another. It's harder to do for myself and I can't trigger this and float at the same time."

"All right sir," Chip said as he linked his hands.

Kara stepped onto the boost and braced a hand on the carved panel while she quickly worked to get the trigger open. "Down please," she told Chip finally as the carved panel moved to the side, "and thank you."

"You're welcome sir," Chip said.

"Doesn't it seem odd," Hopper said as they crowded onto the lift.

"What?" Kara asked as she watched Fallback pressed the button to go down.

"Um, just that it would be so hard to open the lift." Hopper said, "Sir."

"The Archivist who handled this place could have used the Force to do it," Kara said, bracing herself as the lift began to drop. A hand ghosted against her back, probably Rusty, giving her silent support. "The kind of fine touch that requires is difficult to do on an unfamiliar object. Now that I know how it's triggered, I could just use the Force next time."

The lift came to a halt, and Kara quickly cleared the way for her squad, approaching the first of the vault doors. She pulled up her most serene expression as the room seemed to echo with Master Yoda's familiar admonishment that _size mattered not._

The first vault door was heavy, too heavy for most beings to lift alone. It required a Jedi to open, not only because of the weight, but because of the difficult maneuver it required to open all the way. Kara pressed her hands to the door, feeling the solid stone within as her men moved around behind her. She tilted her head forward slightly, letting the Force fill her for a long moment. She then carefully lifted the block and shifted it to the left, then she lifted again and slid it back to the right. Carefully she slid it back and forth, freeing it from the different catches that held it. Finally, it was raised enough that she could slide the block all the way to the left and allow her men through the door.

One of them whistled softly as they took in the thickness of the block, that it was wider than two of them standing shoulder to shoulder.

"Master Yoda always says, size matter not," Kara said softly as she followed Rusty and Hopper into the next chamber.

"I remember General Yoda," Rusty said, "it sounds like something he'd say."

Kara smiled, "Did he get you in the shins, Rusty?"

"No?" Rusty said slowly.

Kara chuckled, "We used to joke that you weren't an initiate until Master Yoda hit you in the shins. Everyone got at least one." She turned her attention to the next door. It was equal in size to the other door, with a large ten meter by ten meter panel taken up with smaller panels, each of which was covered with circular markings, but none of which lined up, and with a single blank space currently on the bottom left.

"It's a puzzle," Kara said, studying it, "A puzzle lock. I've heard of these, but I've never seen them."

"How does it work?" Chip asked.

"You have to know what it's meant to say, or be, to put it together. There are currents, if you misalign it too badly, you can be electrocuted." Kara replied. "Each square can only move in certain patterns to finish it."

"And if you can't get it?" Chip asked after a moment.

"Fail enough, and the contents of the vault explode," Kara said, "it's quite ingenious. Not useful if you need to go in or out a lot, like at the Temple, but useful if you expect to be gone for a while." She tilted her head slightly, "I need to meditate on this before I try anything. They wouldn't have sent me if I didn't know this."

"What should we do?" Blaze asked.

Kara glanced at her Sergeant, "Eat something? I'm surprised none of you have noticed that Mash's stomach has been growling since we got on the elevator."

Everyone turned to look at the trooper in question and he tilted his head, "What?"

"You forget to eat?" Blaze asked.

Mash hesitated, "Maybe?"

Kara sighed, "Everyone just take a break, okay? Don't hover, but don't go too far." She took her personal datapad out of her pack and sank down before the door. She looked up at the door as her hand began moving the stylus. There was something familiar about the pieces, something she'd definitely seen before.

After a while, Kara took a deep breath, closed her eyes and sank even deeper into the Force, searching for her memories. She was aware of her squad moving around behind her, of her hand tracing something on her datapad, and even could detect some worry from outside, possibly her other squads. She almost pushed to make sure, but instead turned back to her original task.

It was the scent of something hot that brought her out of her trance. Kara turned to find Fallback putting a steaming cup of caff next to her.

"Thought you'd like some, sir," Fallback said.

Kara smiled, "Thank you." She picked up and took a sip, fighting not to grimace at its strength, "Do we have any sugar?"

"Sure," Fallback said, "hold on. Do you want something to eat?"

"No," Kara said, "I'm fine."

Fallback raised his eyebrows, then stood up and went to get the sugar. Kara glanced down at her pad. It was Yoda, thwapping some poor initiate on the shins. The boy in question had a branching image of a Jedi Knight, lightsaber lit, and looking like some holovid hero.

"Of course," Kara said as it connected. She jumped to her feet, staring at the pattern, "why didn't I see it before." She touched her left wrist, then turned, "I know how to get in."

"How?" Blaze asked.

"I should have remembered, Master Yoda set the lock three years ago, when they shut everything down. This, this was something he told me about." She studied the panels. "When I was about six, I saw him thump a couple of initiates who'd just passed their Padawan Trials. They'd been bragging about becoming Jedi Knights and great warriors. Master Yoda told them that _'Wars not make one great'._ That phrase smacked me as being something so important, it, well, it resonated for me. I told Master Yoda how it felt and he told me a very interesting story."

She made her first move carefully. "When Master Yoda was young, already a Knight but not a Master, he met a being who was very old and very sad. He'd been an explorer, an adventure, dedicated to helping people wherever he went, much to the dismay of his people. Then his people got into a war they couldn't lose and the being became a warrior. When they had used their great weapons, and were struggling to hold onto their final city, the leaders of his people gave the being a weapon that would end the war. So, he took the weapon and he used it, and he learned that his leaders had not spoken of the price. That to end the war with the weapon would mean that only this very sad and very old being would survive the war. Yoda gave me a token from that being, a bracelet with a metal tag. On it was written "Wars do not make us great" in the language of that fallen race to remember their folly and the price they paid."

She gestured at the now completed puzzle, "It's something only the two of us would know, I imagine."

"That is impressive," Blaze said as the door opened.

"Let's finish our drinks and get this packed up," Kara said. "This seems to have taken longer than I thought it would."


End file.
